Bag the feeDear Editor, The City Council has approved a new five-cent bag fee for consumers who don't use their own bags. I'm for recycling, but not for taxing the poor who cannot afford another expense when ...

Protect benefitsDear Editor, As we mark Older Americans Month in May, it is important to remember that many retirees across our nation and community are facing the cancellation or loss of their earned retirement h...

5 cents adds upDear Editor, New York City is helping the supermarkets handsomely since the five-cent bag charge goes to the supermarket, not the city. What was a cost of doing business now is pure profit to the s...

Wasting moneyDear Editor, Drip, drip, drip, watch your tax dollars go down the drain. Have you seen the "Don't Let Tax, Water, Or Repair Charges Come Between You and Your Property" full-page ads in many weekly ...

Rich or poor?Dear Editor, The Democrats, Socialists, liberals, progressives, and Communists think that making a nation richer is by printing money and creating a $19 trillion dollar. The Republicans, Conservati...

More than a libraryDear Editor, I'm delighted that the Kew Gardens Hills library branch at Vleigh Place and 72nd Avenue will re-open this fall after being closed since 2013. Perhaps Queens Library President Dennis Wa...

Let Pop's goDear Editor, I think we need to celebrate the re-opening of Pop's instead of publishing the incessant complaining of this venture by Maria Thompson. Rather than opening yet another $.99 store or Ch...

WordplayDear Editor, I must give credit to Donald Trump. During a recent campaign speech, he honored the first responders of "7/11," but he neglected to mention the WWII veterans who lost their lives on th...

Truly the FinestDear Editor, There are many people these days who say negative things about our Finest at the NYPD, who serve and protect all of us and truly care for the community. Yet these same people rarely sa...

Get on boardDear Editor, Let's all get on board to join National Amtrak Day on May 11. Why not ask our elected officials to support a dedicated capital revenue stream that could include allocating a penny per ...

Come clean on 9/11Dear Editor, Saudi Arabia, which has been an ally of our country for many years, also may have had a role in the funding of the September 11th terrorist attacks against our country. If this is true...

Down with co-opsDear Editor, A recent StreetEasy analysis of all types of rentals has shown that the median rent-to-income ratio averaged 65.2 percent in New York City in 2016. Although lagging income growth contr...

Against landmarkingDear Editor, I have lived in Flushing for over 30 years and supported the Broadway-Flushing Homeowners’ Association’s efforts to improve and enforce zoning and building codes, as well as the Ricker...

Shameless ShellyDear Editor, Former Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver reportedly used his power to gain sexual favors along with money, giving new meaning to the old adage that "politics makes strange bedfellows." O...

Only in the U.S.Dear Editor, As disquieting as this election season has been with mountains of negatives, little has been said about it uniqueness. To replace the first African-American president there is a woman,...

By Laila Bassam and Lisa Barrington ALEPPO, Syria/BEIRUT (Reuters) - The Syrian army pressed an offensive in Aleppo on Friday with ground fighting and air strikes in an operation to retake all of the city's besieged rebel-held east that would bring victory in the civil war closer for President Bashar al-Assad. "The advance is going according to plan and is sometimes faster than expected," a Syrian military source told Reuters, adding that the Syrian army and its allies had recaptured 32 of east Aleppo's 40 neighborhoods, about 85 percent of the area. There were no reports the Syrian army had made significant gains.